


patched up, every leak that i could

by davidelizabeth



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ashe is everyones favourite, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 05:10:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21030782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/davidelizabeth/pseuds/davidelizabeth
Summary: It was always a race to fall asleep first, or potentially not be able to sleep for those with weaker constitutions. It wasn’t talked about, but everyone in the building knew that once night fell, the screams would start.





	patched up, every leak that i could

It’s close to midnight before the Blue Lions arrive back at the monastery after another mission. The sky is clear, without a cloud in sight. The castle is lit by scattered lanterns, with a few knights patrolling, and waiting for their arrival. They had been supposed to arrive hours earlier but had been caught up in another skirmish that had held them back. The entire class is quiet, aside from some quiet murmuring between them as they unpack as quickly as they can, dropping their supplies and weapons as the knight’s approach to take them away. Usually they would have to unpack, and clean their own supplies, but the knights had taken quiet pity on the exhausted kids and their tired professor, and waved them away with a soft laugh, telling them to get some sleep. 

It doesn’t take the Blue Lions long to scatter, some heading straight towards the bath house for a quick wash up before bed, others skipping getting clean to fall straight into their beds and finally sleep. Byleth is one of the ones who fall straight into bed, barely pausing to take off their boots and unlatch their axe and sword from their waist. The monastery is quiet, not a peep from any student can be heard. But this never lasts long. The walls had an impressive amount of soundproofing, but nothing could dull the sounds of various nightmares, screams twirling and mingling into a terrifying symphony of suffering. 

It was always a race to fall asleep first, or potentially not be able to sleep for those with weaker constitutions. It wasn’t talked about, but everyone in the building knew that once night fell, the screams would start. Most kids would take some type of tonic, or tea, before sleep so that they wouldn’t be woken up, others had forced themselves to get used to the sounds, and simply would fall back asleep. Screams of pain and screams from night terrors were so markedly different that it wasn’t hard to tell that there no was intruders in the monastery.

  
Byleth had pulled Seteth aside early into their tenure at the monastery and had personally asked him to stop hunting students who were out of their rooms after curfew. The conversation had been long and tough, but eventually they had come to an agreement. Guards would be carefully posted near the dormitory areas, and the dining hall would have a few doors left unlocked for those who could not sleep. They had spent a few days pulling aside students one by one and informing them of this, but stressing not to abuse it, or it would be unavailable for the students who were suffering. None of the students were selfish enough to deprive those suffering through night terrors of this respite.

None of this was on Byleth’s mind when they drifted off to sleep. Only thinking of the rest, they would get by sleeping, and the work they would have to do tomorrow to make up for their late return when they woke up.

They are woken up harshly, being jostled back and fourth with someone begging them to wake up. It takes them a second, but eventually they realise that it’s Sylvain.

“Sylvain, what’s wrong?” They said quietly, cutting off their student from his ramblings. They sat up quickly, throwing their legs over the side of the bed.

“It’s Ashe, I was coming back from the grassy patch outside the classroom when I stopped to check on him because I heard him yelling. I checked on him and tried to wake him up, but he was really out of it this time! He’s scratched himself all up and he wouldn’t let me help, he’s in the corner of the room and I can’t get close enough to him to use a healing spell, please come help.” He was barely half way through his explanation before they were up and grabbing a cloak, gesturing for him to keep talking as they left their room.

Fear coursed through them, Ashe was one of their more delicate students. Having been a part of the party that had the unfortunate circumstance of having to fell his father in battle. It had broken something in Ashe, and they had understood fully. They had never known their mother, but their fathers’ drunken ramblings about her where enough to set a fire of loss within their heart from a young age.

Although they were against favouritism, they couldn’t help but hold Ashe above the others. No one had ever said a word about their favouritism within the Blue Lion’s, but they knew that each of them understood, and did everything they could to take care of him however they could.

From Annette’s sweets, to Mercedes soft words and gentle hands during healing, to Felix’s stern lessons about swordsmanship that they would deny took place if anyone asked, and to Dedue’s patience as he walked the silver haired boy through the same recipe for the third time. Everyone cared for Ashe, to make up for how little he cared for himself.

They both hurried two rooms over, taking a pause to knock on Dedue’s door, in case they needed to take him to the infirmary, depending on how deep the scratches that Sylvain mentioned were. Once they got to his room, a barely awake Dedue in tow, Byleth’s heart absolutely broke.

The unofficial baby of the Blue Lion’s was huddled in the corner of his room, sobbing his heart out. He flinched at every noise they made as they walked into the room. Byleth had to rein in the pure sorrow that worked its way through their chest as they looked at the heart and soul of the class.

They quickly ushered the two other boys back, and tried to speak to the hysterical Ashe, “Hey Ashe, do you know where you are? It’s me, your teacher Byleth. Dedue and Sylvain are at the door. Sylvain woke you up, do you remember that?” They tried to keep an even tone, hopefully one that would be soothing to the younger boy.

Ashe didn’t reply, but their crying did start to slow down, before they nodded his head. His lithe frame still shaking under the weight of the sobs he tried to keep on. They shuffled a little closer, trying to see how close they could get before Ashe would tense up again. Thankfully, Ashe didn’t tense up, and they were able to gently grasp one of his arms and draw it away from his body.

They quietly talked to him as they grabbed his arm, “I’m just going to check your scratches okay? Sylvain told me they looked bad when he woke me up, so I just want to check on them. If you need me to let you go, tell me okay?”

Ashe nodded again, gently putting his arm in Byleth’s gentle grasp. Byleth started to hum as they inspected Ashe’s first arm. The scratches were substantial, and basic healing spell’s likely wouldn’t heal it up fully. They turned to the two boys waiting at the door anxiously, “Can the two of you find a guard and tell them to escort you to the infirmary? We won’t need to go there, I should be able to treat these here, but I’ll need supplies.”

The two boys almost trip over themselves trying to rush out of the room, both knowing that the quicker they get the things they need for the scratches, they quicker they can make sure that Ashe was okay.

Byleth gently pried Ashe out of the corner, picking him up and setting him gently on the bed. The bed had spots of blood here and there, but it was mostly focused at one end of the bed. They made a mental note to get Ashe new blankets before they sent the boys back to sleep.

They kept humming, checking the other arm, not pushing him to speak. They both had things that didn’t want to talk about, and they didn’t want to push the poor kid to talk about something he wasn’t ready to talk about. It didn’t take long for him to start talking.

“I was back at the battle with Lonato, except no one else was there. He just stared at me the whole time, while his blood dripped onto the ground. I couldn’t do anything, and then I looked down and there was blood all over me. I couldn’t wake up, and I couldn’t get the blood off me, and I was trying to get it off me! But it wouldn’t come off, why wouldn’t it come off?” Ashe sobbed, his smaller frame easily folding into Byleth’s bigger one.

There was nothing that they could say to soothe his aching heart, nothing they could thing of to lesson the burden that they knew weighed heavy on his young heart. Instead, they tried to rub his back, and listen to him as he talked. His sentences eventually trailed off into more sobs.

They couldn’t tell how long it took Sylvain and Dedue to return with supplies to bandage up Ashe’s arms, it could’ve been only ten minutes, or it could have been half the night, but eventually they came back. They entered quietly, before passing off the supplies to Byleth, who softly moved Ashe off their shoulder, and onto Sylvain’s.

Sylvain began whispering to Ashe, while petting his head. Dedue went back to standing at the door, keeping watch even when he didn’t need to. Byleth crouched down in front of Ashe and started disinfecting their scratches. Trying to be softer and softer each time Ashe hissed or flinched. Sylvain kept talking to him, and if Byleth or Dedue heard a word of it, they would swear that they had never heard a thing if either of them asked.

It took longer than expected, stopping every time Ashe started to cry again. It broke everyone in the room’s heart as he kept crying, they all wished that they could soothe his worries with simple words and gestures. Eventually his arms were fully bandaged, and Ashe was almost falling asleep again, having buried himself into Sylvain’s warmth.

It warmed Byleth’s heart, seeing Sylvain care so much about his classmate. “Are you alright to stay with him Sylvain? I don’t really want to leave him alone again, but he’s already almost asleep on your shoulder.”

Sylvain nodded, before gently laying back, taking Ashe with him. Byleth grabbed the blanket on the bed that had been pushed down by what Byleth assumed was Ashe’s thrashing in his sleep. They dragged it up and over the two boys, as Sylvain gently ran his fingers through Ashe’s hair as the boy stirred.

“I’ll check on the both of you in the morning, but you’re excused from tomorrow mornings activities, and possibly the afternoon’s activities if he’s not feeling well. I’ll check both your schedules in the morning and inform whoever I need to. If you need me again, come get me okay?” They said to Sylvain, while quietly ushering Dedue out of the room. Leaving Sylvain to take care of an almost sleeping Ashe.

**Author's Note:**

> back at it again,,,,, god i fucking love ashe and sylvain i absotely fell in love with them during my blue lion run,,,,,,,,, 
> 
> this is also based on my own experiences with nightmares, although i usually dont remmeber SHIT about them
> 
> yell at me on twitter,,,,,,,, @goddammitbatman,,, we stan these kids,,,


End file.
